COIMBATORE: An injured Makhna elephant, which had been keeping the forest officials here on their toes, crossed the interstate border to enter Kerala early on Monday. This is the second time the elephant has moved into the Kerala forest within a month after giving a tough time to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department staff.
The elephant was initially spotted in the Maruthamalai forest in the Coimbatore forest range on August 15 before it returned to Kerala on August 17. It returned to Devarayapuram in Boluvampatti forest in Tamil Nadu on August 27.
The elephant returned to Kerala a day after District Forest Officer of Coimbatore Forest Division D Venkatesh said the jumbo could not be saved even if the Tamil Nadu forest veterinarian treated its mouth injury after tranquilizing it.
The crossing
The animal was spotted raiding banana plantation for an hour near Thuvaipathi village at 12.30 am on Monday. At 2 am, the animal crossed the interstate boundary and was seen roaming in Badi village in Kerala.
Subsequently, the Makhna elephant moved to Kulikoor village and the information was passed on to the Kerala forest department.
"Till the animal was roaming in the Tamil Nadu forest, our staff placed food items such as rice and nutrition flour laced with medicines on its trail. The animal is unable to eat properly as its tongue is severed. We have also offered it watermelon pulp with tomatoes. It could eat only a few," the official said.
"We expect him to return to Coimbatore forest next week," said an official of the Coimbatore forest division. The elephant is nicknamed 'bulldozer' in Kerala since it has damaged 17 houses within three months in Sholayur forest in Palakkad district.